Despite taking two years off from Congress, David Valadao (R—Hanford) is getting back to work by introducing new legislation to help keep water flowing in the Central Valley.
Early this month, Valadao introduced the Responsible, No-Cost Extension of Western Water Infrastructure Improvements, or RENEW WIIN, Act, a no-cost, clean extension of operations and storage provisions of the WIIN Act.
Encinitas, Calif. — Fourth-grade students living or attending school in Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s service area are invited to enter its 28th annual poster contest. The contest is held in participation with other North County water agencies, and will accept entries until April 5. This year’s theme is “Love Water, Save Water.”
Editor’s Note: This feature highlights new members of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 36-member Board of Directors. Each of the Water Authority’s 24 member agencies appoints at least one representative to the Board, which sets policy for the Water Authority.
Who: Eric Heidemann was seated on the Board of Directors on May 8, 2020, representing the City of Poway. Director Heidemann serves on the Imported Water and Engineering and Operations committees for the Water Authority.
Background/Education: University of Arizona, B.S. Business and M.S. Urban Planning
Water Industry Affiliations:
City of Poway, Public Works Director
Metro Wastewater Commission JPA
American Water Works Association (AWWA)
American Public Works Association (APWA)
League of Californian Cities
Q: How did you get interested in water issues?
A: I was born in California, raised in Arizona, and after graduating college – worked as a planner in Colorado. I’ve spent my entire life in the Southwest. As a kid from Tucson, I lived through decade-long droughts and watched the Central Arizona Project (CAP) be constructed and deliver Colorado River water to southern Arizona. That was a big deal back then. In Colorado, I worked for a small town near Vail (at the headwaters of the Colorado River) and was responsible for managing development and the Town’s very senior water rights portfolio. Currently, I’m the Director of Public Works for the City of Poway and responsible for, among other things, its water treatment and distribution systems. I’m a product of the Southwest, and water has had a strong influence on my personal and professional life.
Q: What are your priorities or interests as a Board member?
A: My priorities as a Board member are to work hard, listen carefully, and add value wherever I can. The SDCWA is a premier organization with excellent staff and strong administrative and financial policies. I want to see that continue. I don’t take the responsibly of being a Board Member lightly – I feel honored to work with some of the brightest minds in water.
Q: Besides maintaining safe and reliable water supplies, what do you see as the top three issues facing the San Diego region?
A: Housing, transportation, and aging infrastructure.
Q: What do you like to do when you are not working?
A: Now that my kids are older I spend a lot of my free time running. Recently, I’ve been stretching myself by training for an ultra-marathon. It really helps me think, clear my mind, and reduce stress.
The Water Authority’s Board of Directors typically meets on the fourth Thursday of each month. The Board invites the public to attend its monthly meetings and to comment on agenda items or other matters before the Board. For meeting times, agendas and documents, go to www.sdcwa.org/board-directors.
As part of his efforts to create a more sustainable future for all of us, Mayor Todd Gloria today publicly released a new analysis of San Diego’s future water needs that indicates that the City will develop more than 50% of its water locally by 2045, in large part due to the Pure Water recycling program. This will be a dramatic increase in local water supply, which currently requires the City to purchase 85% to 90% of its water from imported sources.
The Helix Water District Board of Directors last week unanimously approved funding for the district’s first financial customer assistance program, which will help East County residents who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Addressing the San Diego region’s limited local water supplies with innovative ideas is something the San Diego County Water Authority has become known for. Using expertise gained from decades of successful planning and projects, the Water Authority is developing strategies to reduce the future cost of water that sustains the economy and quality of life across the county.
A disappointingly dry February is fanning fears of another severe drought in California, and cities and farms are bracing for problems. In many places, including parts of the Bay Area, water users are already being asked to cut back.
Colorado’s high country is just weeks away from its average peak snowpack date. Current measurements are on the fast track to coming up short. “Our snowpack has been struggling. We’re close to average, but not quite to average so the likelihood of getting average snowpack is pretty low at this point. It’s most likely that most areas of our state will have a little bit below average snowpack when we end the season,” said Becky Bolinger, Assistant State Climatologist with the Colorado Climate Center at CSU.
The South San Joaquin Irrigation District season is starting March 10 although board members added an asterisk to that decision. Restrictions on water allocation as the irrigation season unfolds loom as a possibility especially if March ends up being mostly dry. The board last week was guided by the conservative outlook the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration posted for its California and Nevada River Forecast that includes the Stanislaus River watershed that the SSJID relies on to make deliveries to farmers irrigating 52,000 acres around Manteca, Ripon, and Escalon as well as deliver drinking water to Manteca, Lathrop, and Tracy.
On issues ranging from climate policy to immigration and health care, the past four years have been full of discord between California and Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, water users throughout California have not escaped the conflict, including in the Central Valley, where our communities have suffered as a result. Now, with drought conditions returning and the impacts of climate change intensifying, it is time to advance a solution for statewide water policy that will transition us from an era of conflict to one of collaboration.
